Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join my colleague, Deputy Niall Collins, in opposing this proposal. If the abolition of the Seanad was really such an important aspect of Fine Gael policy, one might have assumed the party would at least have published a policy document in sufficient time to allow its own members to be aware of it. In fact, the way in which the policy was announced left no doubt that it was a response to a dip in the opinion polls. The Tánaiste, then leader of the Labour Party in opposition and another person who has shown himself to be different in government from what he was on this side of the House, was riding high in those polls at the time. The Taoiseach, as then leader of the Fine Gael Party in opposition, needed something big to grab the headlines. There were no internal party discussions of what was proposed; it was all about the headlines.

I do not mind politicians posturing from time to time and seeking headlines but when the Minister is attacking an arm of the Oireachtas, its second Chamber, I find that very distasteful, to say the least.

Then there was a great democratic revolution whereby the Government set up the Constitutional Convention to oversee the changing of the Constitution. At the very least this issue should have been referred to the Convention on the Constitution in order that it could have had an informed discussion on it and we could have had a discussion in this House and elsewhere.

I was a Member of Seanad Éireann from 1993 to 1997. It needs reform, there is no doubt about that. This House needs reform as well. Every day of the week we see a shambolic charade when the Government comes in and bludgeons Parliament to death with its massive majority, guillotines Bills, stifles debate and treats elected Members with absolute contempt and disdain. There is no process for raising issues of serious concern. There is no accountability in getting real questions answered. I believe not only as a Deputy but also as a citizen that Governments should be held to account. There is an obligation on Parliament to hold Governments to account. The way this Parliament is structured such that the Government runs the show because of the Whip system means that it has less accountability and there will be less when the Seanad is abolished, as the Government wishes. We should campaign on this issue and highlight the fact that this is a power grab, as Deputy Niall Collins said.

There is cynicism in Ireland about politicians. Why would there not be? The Government parties said they would burn bondholders, that there would be no cuts in child welfare and no increases in water charges. They made a plethora of promises when they were on this side of the House. When those Deputies became Ministers they broke one promise after another. I find it very distasteful that we cannot have an informed debate, that the public is being asked only a simple question either to abolish the Seanad or leave it as it is. That is unhealthy to say the least. If we are going to abolish the Seanad, this House needs to be reformed as well.

One of the most insulting things coming before us is the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013. This is to inquire into issues of public interest. We know full well that this Bill is flawed from the word go. The Government is talking about a democratic revolution, finding the truth, holding Governments to account and ensuring the hard questions are asked and answered. This Bill is nothing but a political stunt from start to finish. The Government has no interest in unearthing what happened prior to the banking crisis, during the crisis, the guarantee and the lead-up to it. This Bill is an insult to what we call Dáil reform. We need to have a proper investigation of what happened. It should be open, transparent, independent and impartial but it is a political stunt by the Government, particularly the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, to bring forward this pitiful Bill which he says will unearth the truth. If it will, whoever allowed it out of the Office of the Attorney General will have to answer many serious questions. If one reads the Bill, one can see that it will not hold people to account. It will hold officeholders to account, and I have no difficulty with that, but it will not hold to account people who are also potentially culpable in the demise of the banking industry in this country, the resulting guarantee and all that flowed from that.

When we talk about Dáil reform let us have a meaningful discussion on it and on Seanad reform. In the meantime, let us have a meaningful discussion on what we want to achieve in this Parliament as elected representatives of the people with regard to accountability, transparency, holding Government to account, particularly a Government with a massive majority that sweeps in here day after day, sends in one or two Ministers and repeatedly guillotines Bills. We could not even have discussions on one of the most important Bills on taxation changes in recent times, the local property tax. It was bludgeoned through Parliament. The Opposition was dismissed as if it was irrelevant. We may be irrelevant in numerical terms because of the coalescing of Fine Gael and Labour after they betrayed promises made before the previous general election. That is not the point. The point is that we are obligated to hold the Government to account and the least a Government which talks about a democratic revolution should do is try to accommodate that type of debate. It should be making itself more amenable and accountable but it is doing the exact opposite, holding sham Friday sittings when there is no accountability whatsoever, and reducing the time for questions to the Taoiseach and in which we can have responsive, rapid debates on issues of public interest, which are also dismissed out of hand.

The Government says these are matters for the Dáil. They are not. They are matters for Government because it runs the Dáil in its entirety from 10.30 in the morning until the last bell at night. When the Minister talks about reform of the Oireachtas, let us have meaningful discussions on it. Let us have a sincere debate on how we can reform the institutions of this State rather than just deciding to abolish the Seanad for cheap headlines that will garner a few votes and encourage the demeaning populist type of politics in which many people in this House engage. This was a stunt from start to finish but the people might yet realise that this arrogant Government deserves to be held to account. The more questions that are put to Ministers and the more checking and scrutiny of legislation and policies that go through the Seanad and the Dáil, the better for everyone. I hope that when we take this campaign to the people, they will respond knowing full well that this is for one reason only: a power grab by a Government that is completely removed from the reality of what happens every day in this House and treats this Parliament with disdain.

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